Shiprock Restaurant — Restaurant in Arizona

I came to this restaurant a year ago and the dining experience was much better, unfortunately. New management took over in June, which it was a pleasure talking to the owner- he is a wealth of knowledge about the area and history of the lake. However, I know they are still growing so I hope these tips are helpful for improvements for I would love to have a great experience (all around) at this beautiful lake where the scenery is breathtaking. It’s all about the experience which can either make or break it for you, and sadly, for me, this visit broke it. The restroom needs toilet seat covers and they need to spray for bugs. The toilet seat was covered with bugs, and bug corpses were in the toilet. Good thing they were dead or that would have been uncomfortable! The AC vent above the toilet would blow so hard that the toilet paper I had placed onto the seat for sanitary purposes would blow off, so using the restroom was a difficult experience, but I eventually succeeded. The biscuits and eggs looked very unappetizing, they were not homemade, but moreso something that came out of a plastic bag that you heated up in the microwave. I couldn’t imagine what they tasted like, and wasn’t about to find out. I had an English muffin, which was quite flattened and buttered for me - a no no in the industry. Butter needs to be offered on the side. Sweet n low and sugar were the Only sweeteners available. My decaf coffee was fine, but my neighbor wasn’t thrilled about his regular coffee tasting. In today’s world of coffee gurus and health and wellness awareness, another sugar / sweetener substitute should be offered like, sugar in the raw, or stevia, for those of us who are sensitive to sugar. The furniture had been replaced which is beautiful, but they aren’t bistro high tops so the only view of the lake is through the railings. Which is how it was during my last visit last year, but the food was great so it made the view obstruction less burdensome. But It sounds like high tops will be added to another area- the lower section of the restaurant - which was great to know. However, if the food isn’t improved upon, and fast, I will have to picnic it up at this lake for it is one of my favorite spots to visit. You can’t have a bad view AND bad food at a prime spot like this. I look forward to improvements being made. Thanks...

As an Arizona native, I have been to this restaurant many times and absolutely love it. It is a fantastic place to take out of town guests for a good meal, great scenery, and great service (although it is a bit pricey).

HOWEVER ...

Yesterday my daughter and I went here for lunch and left feeling very ill. It was the first time we have ever sent back WATER!!! The water was absolutely disgusting - it smelled and tasted like it was pumped in directly from the lake. The tea and sodas with ice had the same problem. Our sweet server explained to us that she had ordered a water filter from Amazon, but it was taking forever to arrive. Unfortunately, we wound up purchasing our drinks from the soda machine next to the front door (at $2 a can), as anything we were served was undrinkable.

During our dining experience, we watched as several other guests returned their water and drinks due to the bad taste. The bad tasting water and drinks were the talk at every table around us.

On the way home, my daughter threw up, began sweating, and feeling dizzy. She is very sensitive to what she consumes and unfortunately had a fews gulps of the water before realizing it was bad. She had an upset stomach the rest of the day.

A few thoughts for the management/ownership of Shiprock:

If you know something you are serving is bad, not up to standard, and/or continually being returned by your guests, DON'T SERVE IT WITHOUT FAIR WARNING! Just a sip of bad water and beverages with bad ice completely turned us off to the rest of the meal and experience. We could not get the metallic taste out of our mouth, even after eating our meals and an entire roll of Mentos!

Always have a back-up water filter on hand so you don't have to worry if Amazon is taking too long to deliver.

Consider going to any store to get jugs or bottles of purified drinking water to serve to guests until your water situation is rectified.

Also ... remove the $1.67 "technology fee" from your guest checks. For as much as you charge for the food, I think this is something the restaurant can absorb rather than the customer. It just left another bad taste in our mouth.

Give all of this, we will return to Shiprock ... we'll just a little more wary of the water and ice!

Shiprock ... I know and pray you can do...

Lovely location for a nice restaurant. Unfortunately the location doesn’t make up for the shortcomings. Very busy in March, which is understandable but got seated quickly, but not anywhere with a view of the lake. Kind of a dark, covered patio area. Lovely server took our drinks and food order. Prices were healthy and notes on the menu said that parties 5 and over, automatic 20% tip. Plus it said that there would be a 3 or 4% fee for credit card use. Food came quickly, with the drinks, so no time to just chill and relax after our long hike. Three of us had the chile, which was just ok and lukewarm and didn’t even come with a bun or garlic bread. Others shared a Cob salad which was good, and a beef dip. Food, ok. But it felt rushed as many people were right beside us waiting to be seated. We asked for seperate checks, hoping to skirt the 20% tip. No such luck. 20% added to each bill, plus a “convenience fee” of a couple bucks each. We should have asked but didn’t and paid the bills in pretty much exactly cash. Before we left we decided to ask “What’s the convenience fee?” She said it was the upcharge for credit cards, which they automatically add to every bill, and remove if you pay cash, AND call attention to it. We should have asked ahead of time but it seems rather dishonest to put the onus on the customer to figure this out. Will not be going back or recommending this place. They are busy enough that they won’t miss...